Convertible table



May 5 w36- L.. 1 RICHARD 2,@3948 CONVERTIBLE TABLE Filed March 18, 1935 Patented May 5., 1936 UNIT-Eo sfr-Ares PATENT OFFICE 3 claims.

The present invention relates to a tablewhich can be instantly converted from one form'to an'- other; as to itsheight'and the. character of its top, whereby 'a single 'arti'cle of" furniture may full twoA or more differentifu'nctions.

In'the embodiment of the Vinvention hereinde-` scribed by way of example, the table, in its normal condition, has the'form of 'a coleetable, and when converted, becomes a" card table,'but` it'is to be understood that the invention is not llimited to these specic forms,A butmaybe-embodied^ in convertible-tables having other' uses;

A coiee-table, as known-*in the'furnitureart;

is approximately' seventeen 'inches high',Vr and4 is used asa stand from which toservecoffee in a drawing-room or lounge, the short -legs making it convenient to the easy` chairs found? in such rooms. The top is customarily polished-or ornamented, andthe entire table is ar decorative'pieceof furniture. Acard table is approximately twenty-seven inches high, and-its `4top is 'usuallyl permanently ycovered with some slightly resilient material such as felt `or enameledfcloth The principal object of thepres'ent`inve'ntionis to provide a table, which may "be'lasdecorative as desired,whose legs may be extended-andwhoseA top may be reversedftolconvert it ita table of different form, sothat one piece 'offurnituremay-f servetwo uses, thereby-saving expense, trouble and space. Otherfobjectsareto` provide'ex-v tensible legs which are easilyandllquicklyop# erated and which are rigid-andfstrong'infeither retracted or extended position, and'to-provide concealed mechanism for locking and -releasing f the extensible'legs, so'fthatthe ornamental ap"-j pearance ofthe table is not impaired.'

Still further objects and advantages off'thein-I vention-will become apparent frm-'theffollowing specification which should be-rea'd with the'understandingthatchanges,1 within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Reference will be made to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a bottom view of a table embodying a preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and enlarged, showing the parts in position to form a coffee table with the legs retracted.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a portion of one leg showing it in extended position.

In the drawing, the reference numeral 4 designatesaftop frame, preferably rectangular; to the underside of which arexed the legs 5.H Ask'lrtvorrrail-`6 extends between the legs 5 to brace them, and is-alsdattached tothe underside of the'frame 4. A top 1 is removably supported by'`- the frame 4, and v'is preferably set `into ra rabbet 8 formed in the upper'surfa'ce of said frame, thev top and frame together-constituting what may be termed the-body of the table. One side of the top 1 may Abe polished or decorated in any desired manner, and is 4intendedfto be Iuppermost when l the device is used as aV coffee table,I as shown in Fig; 2. Theother side of the top -1 is covered with va layer ofsuitable resilient material, such',l

for example, as felt. When used as a coffee table,A the felt -9 is concealed, as shown in Fig. 2, but by'f lifting out *theI top 1 'and' reversing'it, they felt cover becomesuppermost to form a card table. If desired, suitable means, not shown in thedrawh ing, vmay `be provided for holding the Vtop 1 'in` Each leg 5"is hollow and contains a slidablev extension I0, the sliding movement of which is limited by a pin or dowel II in the fixed leg 5 which operates ina groove I2 inthe extension I0; and abuts against a shoulder formed' at the end of said groove,l asshown in Fig. 3. The '-ex* tension I0 is alsoihollow and surrounds a locking member or bar I3 which has a projectinglug- I4'lnearvits lower end. The locking bari I3 isslightly tapered, as shown, its upper end being a f free fit-in the interiorof the extension I0, and' its-lowerend being-reduced in width to'permit it to have suflcient lateral or tilting movement toenable the lug I4 tol engage or disengag'e a socket lI5 formedinithe interior'of said extension. The lockinglbar I3 'is rigidlysecured at its upper endvr to a horizontal lever I' I6" which extends through an-apertureH inthe insideof the xed leg5 and-lie's adjacent to'the inner face ofthe I1 which seats upon the bottom of the aperture I1 and forms a fulcrum upon which said lever may rock to tilt the locking member I3 into and out of locking engagement with the extension I0.

When the lever I6 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, in which position it is normally retained by gravity, the lug I4 of the locking member I3 engages the socket I5 and holds the extension I0 in retracted position, as shown. The table may, therefore, be picked up and carried about without having the extension legs I0 drop down. When it is desired to extend the leg, the lever I6 is raised, thereby freeing the lug I4 from the 40 skirt-'rail 65 l TheleverI S-is provided witha notch socket I5, and when the table is lifted, the extension I will drop down to the position shown in Fig. 3. The lever I6 is then released, which allows the lug I4 to engage the upper end of said extension, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby locking the leg in extended position. The upper end of the locking member I3 abuts against the bottom of the frame 4, so that the weight of the table is borne by the extension I0, the lug I4, and the locking member I3, the Xed leg 5 forming merely a guide.

The levers I6 of the two legs on one side of the table are joined together by a channel block I8, to which the inner end of each levei` is connected by a pivot I9, said ends being preferably cut down to form tongues 20 which lie within the channel 2I of the connecting block I8. The levers of the two legs on the opposite side of the table are similarly connected, as shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, by grasping the frame 4 at the mid portions of its opposite sides, and extending the ngers beneath and around the skirt pieces 6, the two connecting blocks I8 can be simultaneously raised to unlock all four legs at the same time. Thus by lifting the table in a natural and convenient manner, that is, by grasping its opposite sides and simultaneously operating the connecting blocks I8 by extending the ngers under the skirt pieces 6, all four legs may be allowed to drop down to extended position. To retract the legs,

Ythe same operation is performed, that is to say,

the table is lifted slightly to free the locking mechanism from its weight, the connecting blocks are raised, thereby unlocking the extension legs, and the entire table is lowered, the extensions retracting upwardly into the xed legs 5.

It will be apparent from the drawing and the foregoing description that my table, when its legs are retracted and its reversible top is turned to present its polished or decorated side uppermost, forms a substantial short-legged stand suitable for use as a coffee table, which can be ornamented to any desired extent, and which may remain in a drawing-room as a permanent article of furniture, all the extension mechanism being concealed within the hollow legs and behind the skirt pieces. Moreover, byv merely extending the legs as described above, and reversing the top, the device becomes a card table of standard height, thus obviating the necessity for two separate tables. The hollow leg construction provides ample bearing surface for the extension legs, so that, when extended, they support the table rigidly.

It is to be understood that the treatment of the two faces of the reversible top is not limited to that described above, but that they may be designed for any desired uses. For example, one side may be inscribed as a playing board for some game such as backgammon or chess, with or without marginal decoration, and the other side covered as described for card playing, or both sides may be designed as playing boards for different games, and so forth, the essential feature being the removability and reversibility of the top, by which it cooperates with the extensible legs to form a table adaptable to two different uses.

I claim:-

1. A convertible table comprising a body, legs rigidly xed thereto, rails extending between said legs, an extensible member carried within each leg for sliding movement parallel thereto, a movable locking bar positioned parallel to said leg, and an operating lever xed to said bar and extending laterally beneath said body, said lever being concealed behind one of said rails and said bar and lever being mounted for rocking movement to cause the lower end of said bar to move laterally to engage and lock said extensible member.

2. A convertible table comprising a body, legs rigidly fixed thereto, rails extending between said legs on at least two opposite sides of the table, extensible members carried by said legs for sliding movement parallel thereto, vertically disposed horizontally movable locking bars positioned in concealed relation to said legs, said bars having means for engaging said members to lock them in extended and retracted positions, horizontally disposed operating levers xed to the upper ends of sad bars, each lever and its associated bar being mounted for rocking movement to cause said bar to engage and disengage its associated extensible leg member, and the levers of opposite pairs of bars extending toward and ending in proximity to each other in concealed position behind said rails, whereby all said levers may be operated simultaneously by one person by grasping the two opposite rails and extending the nngers under and behind said rails.

3. A convertible table comprising a body, legs rigidly fixed thereto, rails extending between said legs on at least two opposite sides of the table, extensible members carried by said legs for sliding movement parallel thereto, vertically disposed horizontally movable locking bars positioned in concealed relation to said legs, said bars having means for engaging said members to lock them in extended and retracted positions, horizontally disposed operating levers fixed to the upper ends of said bars, each lever and its associated bar being mounted for rocking movement to cause said bar to engage and disengage its associated extensible leg member, and the levers of opposite pairs of bars extending toward each other in concealed position behind said rails, and a pair of vertically movable members, one connecting the ends of each pair of levers, whereby all said levers may be operated simultaneously by lifting said connecting members.

LEROY L. RICHARD. 

